Love in Silence
by blueicequeen
Summary: Harry Potter was reborn in the midst of fire in a world he had no knowledge of. Naruto gained a guardian, who changed his destiny. Kakashi is still trying to find his rock with every tragic turn of his life. Three different people turn from strangers into family. All it takes is a little love, a little patience and a lot of fairy dust.
1. Child of Fire

**Love in Silence**

Summary: Harry Potter was reborn in the midst of fire in a world he had no knowledge of. Naruto gained a guardian, who changed his destiny. Kakashi is still trying to find his rock with every turn of his life. Three different people turn from strangers into family. All it takes is a little love, a little patience and a lot of fairy dust.

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Child of Fire**

When Harry James Potter breathed his last cold breath, the sight he saw was of the towering figures of his parents lovingly holding baby Harry, immortalised in marble.

When Harry James Potter took his first breath, it was to the chocking merciless grip of thick smoke. His eyes opened to a dark smoke-filled room and his body – What was wrong with his body? Why does it feel so small? – was gripped painfully by a larger body, partially shielding his sight of the room. He could feel his saviour – is this person really his saviour? – carrying him out as fast as she – he could feel the contours of her body – could. The heat gripped tightly and Harry could feel sweat drip from his body.

There were noises from every direction. People were screaming for something – Why couldn't he understand the language? That was not English for sure! – and more voices – women, Harry knew for certain – were screaming in terror. Panicked people ran over one another, trying to get out of the enclosed space and in the jostling of unknown bodies, his saviour's foot slipped as she tried to maintain her balance. His saviour collapsed and Harry tried to cry out but nothing came out. His tiny fingers could only grasp at his saviour's arms when his centre of gravity violently shifted and his unprotected head smacked sharply on the floor. No one stopped to help. Harry's ears rang, his sight blacked out for a minute before he regained partial clarity. His savior was trying to say something but he could not understand. She was trying to get back up but the spreading of the fire kept people rushing up the stairs. He glanced back and could only watch in horror as fire leapt and gripped his savior's feet. She screamed and Harry winced silently at the tightening grip.

The fire spread fast and Harry could do nothing as his savior looked down at him. Terrified grey eyes on a beautiful Asian face looked at him. Meaningless words fell from her lips. The fire had gripped her clothes and the people behind her were already wrapped in a deadly embrace. She pushed herself up against the wall and looked out of a nearby window. It was a long drop but there was nothing else to be done. At this point, it was every man for his life.

The sweat drenched woman grittered her teeth against the burning pain, gripped the child in her arms, kissed the dark hair and threw the horrified child out of the window just as another blast rocked the building.

The last image stunning green eyes saw was of a building going up in flames just as his head hit the edge of a pond and he fell into the water.

XXX

"And the final count?"

"53 women, dead and 1 child survivor. The victim is roughly three years old and was flung out of a window before the second blast. Victim is currently in the care of the medics. Saeha-san is knowledgeable about burn wounds so the victim will not have harsh scarring but she reports that the victim's voice box is too severely damaged. There is no way the victim will be able to speak."

"This is an absolute tragedy. At the end, the mission was a complete failure. Over 80 dead and 53 of them were the victims themselves. I asked for Konoha's help to end a sex slavery ring and yet I have nothing to show for it but bodies to bury. I can't even identify the bodies of the deceased due to the fire. I have a child in my hands who is probably trained in sex and nothing can be done to the suspect because the evidence was blown up! This is an absolute disaster!" the man shouted at the team of ninja before him.

Not a single ninja made a sound. The mission ended in absolute tragedy. Truly none of them suspected the building would be booby trapped with explosive tags. The strategically placed tags did two things – block the exit from the sex slaves and blow up the evidence in the study. Another explosive tag blew up the gas stove, which blew the building up sky high. The Konoha ninja were lucky to escape with their lives.

Out of the tragedy though, a single light remained.

A young victim survived.

The head of the small village sighed. "Regardless, I cannot blame you for this mess, I suppose. Forgive my rants. This has been a stressful period for the village."

"We understand, my lord."

"Please rest before you take your leave. I will prepare a letter for the Hokage. It will take some time as I have to make arrangements for the deceased and for the young child."

"What would happen to the child, sir?" the leader of the small team asked. He was curious and saddened for the child, who looked like she was abducted or born into sexual slavery.

"She is young. We will place her in a home. Hopefully she will be adopted soon."

The leader frowned thoughtfully. He was an orphan and he knew how the system worked. The system would break the child.

"Let me take the child in, my lord. It will be my honor and my penance."

The leader sighed. "It is not that I doubt you, Shinobi-san…"

"I understand. However, in Konoha, the child will have a better chance with the war hopefully ending soon. A child, with this kind of trauma need special attention, my lord."

"I understand… Very well, I will fill up the appropriate documents."

"Thank you, my lord."

XXX

"Ooi, Yoshida! Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"We will need to clear this with Hokage-sama."

"I know but I am sure he will be fine with this."

"This is not your fault, Yoshida-kaichou."

"I know but I feel responsible anyways. In a blink of an eye, everything was snatched away. This feels like fate. A child landed on my lap right after I find out that Moriko and I can't have children. This is a blessing in disguise."

"If your are sure…"

"I am."

"Then we will support your decision."

"Have you thought of a name?"

"Yes. From the very first time I saw those beautiful eyes yesterday."

XXX

When Harry woke up the second time, he was alone.

His body ached and his mind felt like scrambled eggs. Harry rubbed his nose to try and clear his headache but gave it up for a lost cause. He noticed his arms were wrapped up in bandages and sighed. He turned his eyes – his sight was clear without glasses, how peculiar – and saw his surroundings for the first time.

He was in a small room made of wood and he laid on a single mattress bed, which was on the floor. There was limited furniture and Harry recognised them to be simple but useful. It was also bare of any decoration except for a clock on the wall.

His perusal complete, Harry examined his body.

He was tiny.

He had shrunk into a small compact body with tiny hands and feet. He studied the delicate bone structure in confusion, his mind replaying the last scene as he absently checked on each limb.

His eyes widened in shock when his fingers encountered emptiness between his legs. Harry checked multiple times but the results were the same. His manhood was missing.

What could that possibly mean?

XXX

 **Author's Note:**

 **So...I have started another story. I have no idea how I am going to maintain two new stories but this idea will just not leave me alone. I do hope you enjoy it. Please let me know. Have fun fun reading and have a good day!**


	2. The Illusion of Childhood

**Author's Note:**

"" **is for verbal conversations**

'' **is for sign language/non-verbal conversations**

 **Chapter 2**

 **The Illusion of Childhood**

Konoha was very different from the village she was from. Awe-filled green eyes took in her surroundings with keen interest. The large trees around the great village were majestic in appearance, providing natural protection to the people. She could feel the thrumming of magic in each tree she passed by, which soothed her confused soul.

At the huge gates, the team she was with stopped to sign into the village. There were two shinobi manning the welcoming desk. The young girl watched them curiously from the safety of the arms of the man who carried her. He signed them in and asked for an audience with someone called 'Hokage-sama'.

The men at the desk eyed her curiously and cautiously but nodded readily. The team moved across the village and headed straight for a tall tower at the centre of the village. They flared their chakra to signal their arrival and were given immediate access into the Hokage's office.

In the office, a middle-aged man was seated at the table. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage nodded in greeting to the returning team. The team assembled in front of their leader and the team leader lowered the child before the Sandaime.

Sarutobi's eyes widened and he looked inquiringly at his team.

"I believe you must have quite the tale, Yoshida-kun."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. This is Reina. She is the only survivor of our mission."

Sarutobi frowned. "Cat, please escort our young guest outside and wait with her. I will call her in after hearing the report."

Yoshida Kensuke leaned down and spoke gently to the bewildered girl, whose green eyes looked at him in sheer panic at the appearance of the masked figure. He tried to explain things to her but the confusion and fear made him realise his efforts were probably futile. Giving up, he placed her hands in Cat's gloved ones and gave her as reassuring a smile as he could. His young charge looked at him searchingly and studied the people around her before resignedly taking a step closer to the masked figure. Kensuke gave another encouraging nod and watched as Cat guided the wary young girl out of the office.

When the door closed, he took a deep breath and gave his report.

"We arrived at the village around midnight. Our trip to the village was eventless. The head of the village asked us to investigate the claims that an upcoming businessman, Gato, is using his village as a ground for a sex slavery ring. We were also interested as a lot of information seems to be passing through Gato's business, which was related to the war. We watched the building carefully. Gato was not around but many men were passing into and out of the building. We did not see any women.

Taka tried to infiltrate the building, which was surprisingly easy but he dared not risk doing anything suspicious as foreign shinobi were scattered around. As this building was in Konoha territory, it was highly suspicious. Taka also identified several Iwa, Kumo and Kiri nin from the shinobi there although all were low ranked shinobi. He also narrowed down several rooms, which could possibly be Gato's office but he was unable to enter it without raising suspicion."

Takamoto Hideaki took over from his captain.

"I disguised myself using civilian means and walked into the building. It was a large, triple story building. The office, I deduced, was located at the third floor and at each floor, a group of men guarded the stairs. I noticed a stairway heading to the basement but it was heavily guarded. Women, who were purchased for the hour, were escorted from the basement to the rooms on the first and second floors. I did not see any underage child during my infiltration. Once I located the possible office, entrances and exits, I mingled with the men. Many were distrustful and said little but some were talkative. The business is new but the men found it easier to exchange information there. The women were apparently well trained and obedient," he ended with barely concealed disgust.

"We planned our attack carefully. It was designed to infiltrate the building only. I placed a strong genjutsu to cover us but something tripped the ninjas in the building. It was pure chaos. Our cover broke and before we could stop them, ninjas were activating explosive tags around us to escape," Morimoto Ami, their genjutsu specialist reported.

Kensuke took over once more.

"The main reason we had trouble was due to the explosive tags. We also did not know how many were in the basement. In the chaos, we could not retrieve any information. Special seal tags also went off at strategic locations causing the mansion to be brought down faster than we expected. Many died in the explosion. The only survivor is Reina."

Sagara Saeha, the team medic, gave her report on Reina. "The girl is young, only three years old. We believe she was conceived in the house as there are no reports of missing children with her features. We also believe she was either used as a sex slave or would be used as one soon. She was thrown from the house and hit her head on the ground. Her body is small and malnourished and her voice box is severely damaged. She will not be able to speak. We also believe she does not have any education either verbal or visual as she doesn't understand a word we say."

Kensuke took a deep breath and continued reporting before finally concluding. "My wife and I are unable to have children and I feel responsible for the child. I asked permission from the village head and he gave his blessings and filed in the necessary forms for adoption. I hope, Hokage-sama, will be merciful and grant this adoption."

Kensuke bowed deeply.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed tiredly. He did not see any harm in approving the adoption papers but his people need to realise that everyone has a sob story and bringing back puppies could bring them trouble.

He reprimanded them but he approved the adoption. When he met little Reina, he felt he had done the right thing.

XXX

Reina's first meeting with Moriko set the tone for the rest of their interaction. Moriko squealed happily and hugged her husband before stealing Reina from his arms and twirled her around. She gushed happily, her words rushing out too fast for young Reina to understand. Kensuke could only chuckle at the absolutely bewildered and terrified look on his new daughter's face before he swooped in to rescue her.

Moriko's excitement over having a child did not wane over time. Instead, she seemed to bloom with happiness and contentment. The dark-haired woman did not even hesitate when she learned about Reina's disability. Instead, the couple taught Reina how to speak using her hands. Reina mastered sign language under their watchful care and soon learned to read and read lips as well. Of course, the use of translation spells had definitely helped a lot though it gave her family the impression that she was very intelligent.

Considering her dismal childhood in the past, Reina loved every second of her childhood in her new home. She had the attention of a bubbly and optimistic mother and the guidance of a firm but gentle father. Reina also learned more about the world she ended up in through her parents.

Shinobi.

It was such an ugly word.

When Reina finally put two and two together and realised the world breed child soldiers, she had been terrified of being enlisted and forced to kill. Harry Potter had been thrown into violence without any training or protection. Harry Potter had to fight, torture and kill to survive and protect his loved ones. Harry Potter was tired of that life.

When he realised he was going to die anyways, though it would be a drawn out and painful death, Harry had left the wizarding world and travelled to his heart's content. He had withdrawn all his money before Gringotts was fully up and running and he had left Britain. He travelled extensively, from the Valley of the Kings of Egypt to the Ellora caves of India. He had sailed across the Indian ocean and spent nights under the skies of Miyajima in Japan. He had travelled as much as his body had allowed him to and then he had visited his parents' graves. It had been a peaceful ending after a lifetime of pain.

Waking up in a world so full of violence, where children were encouraged to kill broke Reina's heart. The idea that she would be committing to that life again felt inevitable. She wondered why she was woke up in this world and her soul was troubled over the matter.

Kensuke had noticed, of course, and had taken her aside one day to talk about it. When she had finally, hesitantly, shared her fear, he had laughed and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair to her silent protests.

"You do not need to be a shinobi, Reina-chan. You can do whatever you want. In fact, I am happy that you will not join the forces. I would rather you be safe in the village with your mother."

She had been happy then.

Kensuke and Moriko had never kept Reina a secret. Kensuke's team were aware of her and regularly visited to check how she was adapting. They were happy to see her well-adjusted and taught her new things each time they visited her.

Hideaki-jiisan taught her how to do simple hand tricks. He taught her how to hide small things, such as coins to large items such as cards with simple hand movements. Reina remembered the magic tricks performed by street magicians in America and learned it from him gleefully.

Ami-neesan – I am too young to be considered auntie, hun – taught her how to weave a tale using sign and body language. She taught Reina how to tell a story in an engaging manner, something that Moriko loved to watch, which made Reina learn even harder.

The lesson Reina loved the most, she learned from Saeha-san. Saeha-san taught Reina simple medical knowledge using the plans surrounding her home. In fact, she even taught Reina how to plant medicinal plants, care for them and use those plants. The little lessons she gave used her parents as willing volunteers, much to their amusement.

Reina took to her lessons with ease, the knowledge from her previous life helping her. Her love of learning made her parents very happy and they continued to teach her various life skills. She learned cooking in the kitchen with her mother and cooking over a campfire with her father and his team. She learned how to sew from her mother and how to stitch wounds from Saeha-san, who used Hideaki-jiisan as a volunteer dummy (She still doesn't know what he did to piss Saeha-san off because it was a painful and bloody lesson. Mother wasn't happy but Saeha-san insisted that she should know basic medical knowledge, which includes stitching wounds. Reina didn't mind and when Moriko realised her daughter wasn't overly traumatised, she reluctantly relented.).

It was because of her eagerness to learn that she met the stunning woman she had come to know as the Red Hot Blooded Habanero, Uzumaki Kushina. Reina had found her father's storage tag and had taken to studying the intricate seal. It reminded her of the runes she had learned long ago but the language used was different. Wanting to study the seal closely, Reina had gone to the nearby park and climbed a tree. She settled against the branch and studied the scroll.

Ten minutes into studying the seal and she was almost bulldozed by the red-haired woman. Reina almost fell from the branch before a strong hand caught her and pulled her back to safety. Green eyes clashed and the woman apologized loudly.

"I'm so sorry! I did not see you there. Are you alright, kiddo?"

Reina nodded though her heart was thumping loudly. She signed using the language her family taught her, earning a questioning look from the woman.

'I can't talk,' she signed at the silent query.

"Sorry about that. Well, what are you doing up here at this time of day, kiddo? Why aren't you at the Academy?" the woman asked, planting herself firmly on the branch and eyeing the scroll in Reina's hand. Reina fidgeted uncomfortably before signing back.

'I do not want to be a shinobi, so I did not enrol in the Academy. Father said it was fine. I just wanted to study the scroll. The seal on it looks interesting but I have not seen it before.'

Forest green eyes studied the child before carefully and realised the untrained chakra capacity. Although the child had a decent well of chakra, it was untrained and restless. The kunoichi pondered for a moment before making a decision.

"Well, aren't you a lucky one today. I have a clear schedule and have been looking for a distraction. The name's Uzumaki Kushina, kiddo and I am a seal master. What you are looking at is a storage seal used by shinobi in general. Interested in a quick lesson?"

Reina could not believe her luck and nodded quickly, her discomfort forgotten in the lieu of more knowledge.

'My name is Yoshida Reina. I would love to learn.'

"Just remember," Kushina warned as got comfortable, "Seals are activated using chakra. Without chakra, you can't activate a seal. So if you are not a shinobi, this knowledge will be useless to you in general."

'Do I need to be a shinobi to learn chakra?'

Kushina shook her head. "Everyone is born with chakra. Shinobi learn to access their chakra and use it to fight. You will learn how to access your chakra in the Academy or you will be taught by your family. There is nothing wrong with a civilian knowing how to access chakra but it is a waste as civilians do not use chakra in day-to-day activities."

'But I can learn how to access it?' Reina insisted, wondering at the possibilities.

Her teacher of the day nodded after studying her for a moment. "Yes. But we will not be touching on that just yet. Let's talk about seals!"

With that, the red-head started her lesson. Reina listened to her attentively and soon the duo was conversing about seals. Kushina enjoyed teaching the green-eyed child who watched her in wonderment and listened to her in hunger. Time flew and neither realised, absorbed as they were in the topic.

It was Kensuke who finally found them and Reina felt guilty over the stressed expression on her father's face. The apologetic child climbed down the tree slowly before standing contritely before her father. Kushina jumped down beside her, recognising a fellow shinobi.

Reina apologised and Kushina backed her up before asking Kensuke's permission to meet up with his daughter to talk about seals. The jounin was confused but he knew how rare an opportunity it was. He accepted and invited Kushina over whenever she was free. The red head accepted and bid her student goodbye. Reina bowed gratefully and grinned up at her father, who could only shake his head over his daughter's enthusiasm. He threw her up in the air and caught her with a spin. Placing his daughter on his back, he hopped onto the nearest roof, much to her delight.

He still scolded her on the way back though.

XXX

It was a really wonderful childhood.

Reina had an eclectic mixture of aunts and uncles, none related by blood, who taught her various life skills and pampered her within an inch of her life. She had the pleasure of knowing Kushina-nee, who was a jounin, specialising in seals. Kushina would tell her stories of Uzushio and her people, smiling sadly all the while and tales of her fiancé, Minato, who loved seals.

Reina only met Minato once in person and found him to be too pretty to be a shinobi. When she accidentally signed that to Kushina, the woman had howled in laughter, clutching her stomach with pure mirth. Reina did not know why her observation was funny but she learned to be more careful with sharing that view when she saw Minato taking over the Hokage hat from the Sandaime. There was no way she was risking the Yondaime hearing that.

Konohagakure was filled with joy and the happiness around her seemed infectious. It was a wonder growing up in such a healthy environment. She was truly lucky that the war was ending when she arrived at her new home.

Too bad, it did not last.

On the 10th of October, Reina found herself orphaned by the end of the night.

On the 12th of October, she stood alone in the crowd, paying her respects to the dead.

On the 13th of October, she found herself making her bed in the orphanage.

On the 14th of October, the nightmares started.

On the 15th of October, she tired herself out by helping around the orphanage. It helped.

On the 30th of October, she met Uzumaki Naruto, the lone resident of the last room at the end of the corridor.

The Monster of Konoha

XXX

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thank you all for your support and your reviews. I am glad that you enjoyed the first chapter and I hope you enjoy this one too.**

 **I hope to hear from you!**

 **Have a great day!**


	3. The Monster of Konoha

**Love in Silence**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Monster of Konoha**

 _There was a sudden chill in the air. Reina was familiar with such sudden changes. She woke up from her slumber and looked out of the window. Outside, Reina could see a glow in the dark and it looked too bright to be a light._

 _Fire?_

 _Then, the screaming started._

 _Reina barely had any chance to breath before her room door was slammed open and her mother rushed inside. Moriko looked terrified as she bundled her daughter into her arms. Reina could not even say a word as she was wrapped in blanket and rushed out of the house. Behind her, she saw her father roof hopping on the opposite direction._

 _Outside, Konoha was in chaos. People were running around, screaming in terror. Reina could see a huge orange-reddish figure that looked like a fox with nine tails rampaging across the village. Its tails swung around, crushing people and buildings without care._

 _Around them, shinobi were screaming, ordering the civilians to go behind an erected barrier. Reina wished her mother would let her down so that she would not be a burden but she knew Moriko was terrified of losing her. It was in that crush of bodies that the unexpected happened._

 _One of the tails slammed on the building ahead of them. The building came crushing down and Moriko immediately used her body to shield her daughter. All Reina could feel was terror at the repeated incident as a large portion of the building fell on her mother._

' _KAA-SAN!'_

XXX

A terror-clogged figure lay in bed, breathing heavily. Unseeing green eyes focused on the ceiling as sweat dripped off her brow.

Reina's heart was still hammering away as she rose from the bed. The other occupants in the room were fast asleep. Reina couldn't sleep anymore. She approached the wide window and sat on the sill, watching the comforting darkness.

There wasn't a single orange-reddish light anywhere in Konoha's skies.

The tiny figure hugged herself comfortingly as the memory played out in technicolour clarity. She couldn't stop her mind for remembering that horrible night, forcing her to relive her mother's death. She could scarcely remember the happier times.

She knew she was rescued that same night by the shinobi. She knew she was admitted into the hospital and woke up to the news that her parents and her father's team were dead.

All she had left were the tattered remains of the blanket her mother wrapped around her. Her home was one of the houses destroyed by the creature she later learned was called the Kyuubi. Her father and his team lost their lives in the line of duty.

So many lost their lives in the line of duty.

She had managed to attend the memorial before she was registered into the orphanage. In another life, she was threatened with the orphanage so much that ending in one seemed rather prophetic.

She was destined to never have a family, Reina thought sorrowfully, gazing unseeingly into the dark.

She waited until the sun rose and then cleaned up before the rest of the orphanage woke up. Silently walking to the kitchen, she watched as the two cooks, Umebayashi Shinobu and Okazaki Tane prepared breakfast in tense silence. Reina knew the two were angry souls but they could whip up food for almost a hundred occupants three times a day. That was impressive enough.

Reina knocked loudly and Okazaki-san turned to acknowledge her. She said nothing as she pointed to a large bowl of onions and Reina dutifully walked over to peel and chop the onions.

Keeping herself occupied helped to dull her thoughts. Reina knew it was unhealthy but she did not want to think about how her entire life changed within a night. She refused to think about her loss for there were so many out there who lost family and friends. She wasn't special so she will learn to deal with the cards she had been handed so carelessly once more.

And so her day started…

Reina helped in the kitchen with the food preparation and clean-up. When the younger children ran out in the yard, the seven-year-old girl helped with the chores together with several older orphans. They cleaned the rooms and made up the beds of the younger kids. Once the rooms were cleaned, they joined everyone for lunch. Reina took some time for herself and worked on the skills she learned from her father's teammates. She knew some basic hand-to-hand combat, basic medical skills, sewing skills and planting skills.

Besides honing her meagre skills, Reina kept herself occupied by reading whatever books she could get her hands on and learning civilian hand signs. Apparently, according to matron running the orphanage, Nagata Kukiko-san, Reina was not using any hand signs familiar to her. Moreover, not many civilians understood hand signs. So Reina learned some of the more common hand signs and how to write fast to convey her message to people.

Then came dinner time and Reina helped in the kitchen once more before helping the younger children to get ready for bed. Even though she was only seven, her highly independent, responsible and disciplined nature had the adults assigning her tasks to help out. With the unexpected attack, a lot of children were orphaned and the orphanage was barely functioning optimally. Not many paid attention to the orphanage as they were grieving and busy building the village up. Thus, the caretakers accepted any little help they could get from the orphans.

Ever since the attack, Reina had not ventured out of the orphanage compound. She was a busy little bee inside and she did not want to see the destruction outside the safety of the compound. So she was a little surprised to hear the rumours.

The orphanage had two employees, Fukuda Romi-san and Rio-san, who were twins, who enjoyed spending their time with the cook, Okazaki-san. Many a times, the trio would forget that Reina was even in the room with them and they would talk more than they should in front of her.

It was during one of these little chats that she heard the term being used first – Monster of Konoha.

It was such an odd term especially when she realised they were talking about a person. It was not a common term, since Reina had not heard it before and she put it away from her mind at first.

Then, she kept hearing the term being used in hushed terrified whispers by the adults. Green eyes narrowed thoughtfully as the child continued to help around the orphanage. The caretakers became increasingly agitated and anxious. They watched over the children closer and their frowns deepened. Nagata-san was increasingly absent from the orphanage and one fine day, weeks after the attack, Reina watched from the shadows as she ordered Romi-san and Rio-san to empty the last room at the back of the orphanage and put the children in other rooms. The grim-faced duo silently carried out her orders.

That night, Reina couldn't sleep at all. The entire orphanage was silent except for the sound of soft breathing but somehow, Reina felt disturbed. Tossing and turning did not help so she lay still in her bed, running through the curious events. Harry's curiousity had gotten him into a lot of trouble and Reina knew she could not escape from her inherent nature. However, in this reality, she was not Harry James Potter anymore and she did not have his immunity. So she knew she had to be careful.

Her restlessness rewarded her when she heard the faintest rustle of clothes in the otherwise quiet night. Reina had to reign in her desire to investigate the sound. Instead, she strained to hear if there were any other noises. No matter how hard she strained and listened, she heard nothing. Disappointed, she would have dismissed the noise but right at that moment, she heard the soft but furious whisper of Nagato-san. Reina could not make out any words and soon, she could not hear Nagato-san as well but now she was certain there were people in the orphanage.

Her heart hammered in excitement but Reina forced her body to remain still in bed. She had a feeling that if she left her room right at that moment, she would be in a lot of trouble. It would be better to investigate the matter later.

However, her age and body betrayed her and Reina found herself falling asleep despite her best efforts.

XXX

It has been three days. Reina had kept an eye and ear out for any news regarding the midnight visitors. Nagata-san had not said anything except to introduce a new caretaker, Utsumi Isa-san. Isa-san carried herself with deadly grace despite her age, which clued Reina to her possible ninja background. Nothing was shared about Isa-san and the children did not think to ask any questions. Caretakers were needed and Isa-san filled the requirement. Reina, not being a child in mind, did not think so. She suspected that Isa-san was placed at the orphanage for a reason and on the 30th of October, she found the reason.

Reina had been banned from going to the last room. She was allowed to clean every other room except for the room at the end of the corridor. That had never happened before and no one was willing or bothering to explain to her why. As she could not ask, Reina simply nodded and followed their instructions.

It worked for three days.

For three days, Reina kept her head down. She refrained from asking anyone about the monster in the last room. She did her work carefully under the watchful eyes of the caretakers.

In other words, Reina applied everything she learned at the Dursleys while wishing to remain unseen and her patience was rewarded three days later when the caretakers stopped watching her.

It was during playtime and the caretakers were busy monitoring the children playing outside. Reina knew that no one would be looking for her since she always kept to herself. She slipped away from the crowd and silently made her way to the room.

The door wasn't locked, which surprised Reina but she did not think much about it. She slipped in and closed the door softly before surveying the room carefully. The evening rays illuminated the room in golden light and Reina's eyes stopped at the only furniture in the room – a crib.

Confused, she approached the crib and blinked in surprise at the restless baby, whose blue eyes gazed sleepily at her. The baby huffed silently and smacked its lips. Reina watched, captivated at the rather familiar colouring – golden blonde and bright blue on tanned skin.

A very familiar colouring…

Monster…

The words rang in her mind.

There was only a baby in the room. Nothing else existed to be called a monster. What the hell was going on?

She looked away and studied the room carefully. Except for the baby, the room was sadly empty. Isa-san appeared three days ago. There were visitors three nights ago. The room was cleaned three days ago.

The whispers of a monster…

The baby in the room…

The fear and agitation…

The baby in the room…

The baby…

Reina looked back at the baby, who watched her with increasingly sleepy eyes.

The baby…was the monster?

It felt as though time stood still at the realization. The whispers, fears and anxiety clogging the orphanage finally made sense. Everyone was terrified of the baby. They believe the baby is a monster.

The only monster Reina knew was the huge nine-tailed fox called the Kyuubi. Adults spoke of the monster with fear, anger and anguish. Children dared not utter a word.

And now, a child has appeared and kept separated from the rest and called a monster.

Why and how did the child end up with that moniker?

Reina did not have any answers but she knew a singular truth – no monster would look at her like that.

The sleepy baby huffed and watched her stubbornly with barely opened eyes. The familiar colouring caused her breath to hitch even as she reached slowly and stroked the baby's whiskered cheeks.

Soft…

A sense of contentment and purpose filled her. Reina knew, with certainty, that the little one would need someone in his corner. Harry Potter had no one. Reina would ensure this little one would have someone.

However, the world was cruel and Reina had learned from the best. So she carefully checked the baby's diapers and as the child was content and sleepy, he was probably not hungry. She ensured the window was properly secured before returning to the crib. Reina gently petted the baby to sleep while she thought of the situation. She knew, with how everyone was reacting, that taking care of the child openly would be impossible without alienating herself and making it difficult for both of them. She needed to be subtle.

She needed to be stronger.

Reina was not blind. In a world of shinobi and monsters, civilians had very little power. They only had the illusion of power granted by the shinobi. If the military force ever turned its back on the civilians, the civilians would not last. While they needed the civilians for day-to-day living, they will hardly be inconvenienced in the long run if they got rid of the civilians. As a civilian, Reina had no power.

She looked at the baby and her mind flashed to the figure of her mentor. Uzumaki Kushina had a very distinctive appearance. She was striking. A bold presence. She remembered the singular meeting with Namikaze Minato and his sun-kissed blonde strands. She looked at the baby and realised that one day, everyone else will realise it too because the baby had inherited his parents' most distinguishable features.

And if she was right, she could not stay in the sidelines as a civilian anymore. Someone strong needs to be by the baby's side and Reina knew it had to be her.

XXX

"This is a choice. We are not forcing you. At the end of the day, some of you will have the ability to protect our home and others will not. Being accepted will at least teach you basic self-defence. So think about it carefully. If you are interested in becoming a shinobi, fill up this form. Only those above 5 years of age can apply. If you do not know how to read and write, you are not allowed to apply to the Academy. You will first be taught to read and write in the civilian institution. Please come up front and collect your forms," Nagata-san said sternly.

A lot of the children rushed to collect their forms, chattering in excitement. Reina hung back until the crowd dispersed before walking forward to grab a form.

"Are you sure, Reina-chan? Becoming a shinobi is not easy and unfortunately, speaking is important," Rio-san asked in concern.

Reina nodded before signing. 'Otou-san was a shinobi and I want to make him proud. I want to protect Konoha too!'

The Fukuda siblings looked at each other before nodding grimly. "It will not be easy. However, if you have too much trouble, come and ask us. We will try our best to help."

'Thank you!' she signed happily before she left to fill up the form.

The children signed up without hesitation and Reina could understand why. The shinobi were the elite and the recruiters had spent a long time 'performing' for the children, which made the idea of becoming a shinobi even more attractive.

They did not think about blood and death.

Even as she handed in the form to a frowning Nagata-san, Reina already started seeing blood and death. She knew the price to pay for obtaining the knowledge shared by the shinobi and it was enough to make her cry. She had had enough of death and loss.

But a single thought to the baby still largely ignored by the rest of the orphanage was enough to strengthen Reina's resolve. She had never stood by before and she wasn't going to start now.

This time she will be better prepared and better equipped with knowledge, skills and information. She has a child who will need as much help as he can get.

XXX

"Is he secure?"

"For now."

"Good. Maintain your distance but keep observing the situation. You're forbidden to interfere unless necessary."

XXX

 **Author's Note:**

 **First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the festivities.**

 **Secondly, my apologies for the late update. I have been having trouble accessing . My apologies as well for not replying to your comments. Thank you all for your comments! I am also sorry for any grammatical and spelling errors. I hope they were not distracting.**

 **Finally, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know if you did. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Have a great day!**


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